Simple
by Betka
Summary: Everything hurt more than he thought possible. He didn't know how, or why, but she made that pain go away. She felt like she was lost in a storm, but he turned out to be her rock. Takes place right after BD JBxOC
1. Apology

To all those who have read this and liked it enough to add to their favourite story list –

I am so sorry for my lack of updates and, by my standards, shoddy writing. I've been taking the time to re-write what I have written and start more because I want to give you the absolute best story that I can. You all deserve that. I've changed the OC's name around from Matilda Jo to Jo "Joey" Matilda (the "Joey" has a cute explanation later on).

Basically, I realized that the way I wanted the story to go was going to take too long to get Joey and Jacob together for more than a weekend – and that was way uncool by even my standards. I'm sorry for the inconveinece and any disappointment you may feel.

Warm regards,

Betka


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Ok, so I scrapped the other story. It was moving too slowly for my tastes and I just feel like I could have done better by you, my darling readers. So I'm going to. I'm guessing that the Volturi showdown happened in early to mid November. This is starting at the beginning of December.

Changes to the canon – Bella had the little boy she was dreaming about

Be kind – rewind (and review while you're at it!)

Chapter 1

Joey could barely contain her excitement at the prospect of being almost nine hours away from her family. It wasn't that she hated them. Truth be told, she absolutely loved her big family. It was just that she needed some space to breathe for a little while, make her own mistakes. Spread her wings a la a Hilary Duff song. Her cliched older brothers – all four of them – were far too over protective in her books. They were intimidating enough that none of her boyfriends ever stuck around for long.

Note: When a girl, no matter how amazing she may be, has three older brothers in college on football scholarships and one in the Marines, you do two things. You learn to keep your hands to yourself at all times and you learn to run very far, very fast. But this story is not about Joey's ex-boyfriends and their new-found interest in running. This is a story about two people who were luck enough to touch each other's hearts and heal the damage that was there.

Belinda, or Bel as her husband Dave called her, checked her husband and daughter's suitcases for the umpteenth time. She knew she was being overly cautious and that she would get teased about it at some point, either by her husband or her children. Better to have three extra pairs of woolen socks in your bag than get stuck in a snowy pass somewhere and lose a toe to frostbite.

Bel sat by the suitcases as she waited for Dave to get back from waking up Joey. It was Friday morning and Dave and Joey were going to go to the west side of Washington State to look at colleges. Her only girl…looking at colleges. It was hard to believe that her youngest was finally leaving the nest. Only a few more months and she would be gone. Bel knew how Joey longed for some form of freedom, but she didn't know if it had to entail moving further away than any of her siblings had. She just couldn't imagine her sweet little girl working as an EMT. If Bel had known the reason behind Joey's choice, she would have been flattered.

Bel worked as 9-1-1 operator, and while she may not have seen the things the EMTs she dispatched did, she still had to hear the terrified cries of people over the phone. Her dreams were often tainted with disembodied voices crying for help – help she could never give them fast enough. Joey wanted to be the one to arrive and bring help, hoping that besides the horror she would undoubtedly see at some point, it would help give her some of the closure that her mother never got.

Bel's musings were brought to a halt as she heard footsteps on the stairs. Moments later her little girl (well, Joey _had_ been her little girl at one point) bound into the room, her eyes bright with excitement and anticipation. If she had been a dog, Bel was sure her tail would have been wagging so hard it would have broken itself. She smiled at Joey and handed her a paper bag with breakfast and snacks for the road trip in it.

"Thanks Mom, I really appreciate this," Joey said as she hugged her.

"No worries darl," Bel said as she returned the hug. (A/N: To those not aquainted with Aussie-isms, "darl" = short version of "darling")

Dave popped in, kissed Bel (much to Joey's disgust) and then proceded out to the car with the suitcases. If they were going to make it to Forks by 3 o'clock for the tour and open house, they had to haul ass. They'd already talked about things and decided it would be best to take Joey's car and have her drive while Dave worked on his laptop. That way, she learned how to get there and he could get some much needed writing done.

The drive had been long, boring, but full of beautiful scenery. Joey was sure she would die happily if she never had to drive in or through Seattle again. That was just one confusing mess. Dave looked over at his girl. He didn't want her to live so far away – she was the only one who seemed to keep her brothers in check some days. That, and he was feeling the empty nest syndrome, just as he was sure Bel was too. But he was proud of Joey. She was a smart cookie, and if anyone could succeed, he knew she would.

When they pulled into Forks, they had to ask directions to the Peninsula College. The main campus was in Port Angeles, but most of her classes would be in Forks. It was a small building and there wasn't anything overly flashy about it. There was no on-campus housing, something that quietly bothered him and his wife, but Joey had been excited at the idea of moving into an apartment on her own. There was a pool in Forks that she would be applying to for a job and there were plenty of decently priced apartments in the area. Things should work out.

Joey knew she would be accepted. With grades like hers, the prospect of _not _getting into a community college was almost laughable. She knew she shouldn't brag, but if it were up to her, she'd have to say she was pretty smart. As she walked into the building, the feeling of exhilaration overwhelmed her. In six months, she would be moving here. In eight, she would be starting school. On her own. Free.

* * *

The pack had secretly been taking turns keeping an eye on Jacob. Ever since Bella had given birth to - if such a term could be used for that carnage - little Robert the pack feared for his sanity. What little had been left after the wedding, that is. He had stopped shifting after they witnessed against the Volturi and there was no way for them to fully know what was going on and through his head.

Now he spent his days sitting on the cliff and staring off into the water. By now, he had probably thrown enough rocks in there to make jumping dangerous. Not that the pack did that anymore. The bloodsucker threat had all but disappeared since the Cullens left, but no one knew how to go back to a normal life. They had seen too much, experienced too much.

No one knew how to pull him out of this funk. They just knew they had to. And fast. Emily suggested getting him off the reservation for a little bit, maybe have him go to the community college in Forks and train to be a licensed mechanic once he was done with high school. The others thought it was a great idea, and knowing how averse he would be to the idea, applied for him. He may have been his own alpha now, but he still felt like a part of Sam's pack and still felt that they needed him. He would never want to leave the reservation. And though he was not mystically bound to follow Sam's direct orders anymore, he chose to anyway. He'd never admit it, but he needed someone in his life telling him what to do at this point.

Quil and Embry decided they would drag Jacob into Forks and force him to go to the open house and tour of the campus. They'd pretend like they were going to apply and wanted him come with them before breaking the news. They'd have to tell him at some point that he had been accepted into the mechanics program and because he lived on the reservation he'd gotten a scholarship that would pay for most of his schooling. They just didn't know how to do that.

When it came time for getting ready to go, he'd dragged his feet as much as possible, like a petulant child who didn't want to go to school. But finally, the twins of terror had him stuffed in the back of the car – his own Rabbit, no less – and took off for Forks. They'd talked with the pack the night before. Knowing how much he loved the Rabbit, and how much effort had gone into fixing it up, they figured it would be the safest spot to tell him. His love of his car would (hopefully) prevent shifting due to the fury they knew they were going to face. The timing though, had to be cruicial. Most likely on the way home from the tour – that way, when he got out, they wouldn't have to use bodily force to get him to go to the open house. He could run as free as the wind blows for all they cared.

Jacob knew something was up. His wolfy-sense was tingling. He just couldn't place his finger on it. Looking at the campus, he had to wonder how it would be big enough to hold Embry and Quil. They were some big boys. The looks the three of them were garnering was amusing. It was a mixture of fear, awe, curiosity, and jealousy.

"Look at all the college chicks!" Embry said, his eyes roving back and forth among the sparse students, searching for a hot girl to ogle.

"Don't you mean, _community_ college chicks?" said Jacob, amusement tinging his voice.

"What's the difference? College is college."

"And most of them are actually high school students doing that running start program – I bet half of them are too young."

"Good point."

* * *

Joey ran back to the car. How she could have forgotten her application form and the copies of her SAT and ACT scores, she would never know. But she was supposed to be having a quick meeting with the man who would be her academic advisor this very minute! It was definitely an "oh shit" moment as she fumbled with the keys, barely registering the giants she had torn past in her efforts to get in and out of her car as fast as possible.

She swiped her hair out of her eyes as she spied the troublesome forms. Grabbing them, while trying to not crumple them and make her look like a slob, she locked the car and ran back the other way towards the advisors' block. She was so glad she was a runner as she dodged people left and right, until she ended up slamming into a large, warm, solid body.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" she muttered as she picked herself and her papers off the ground.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am. Can't say stay to chat. I'll buy you coffee one day! Bye!" she yelled as she ran off again. She felt bad. She'd never had a hit and run before. But she was going to be late, and that was just **not** cool.

* * *

Jacob had been walking along with Quil and Embry when he heard a snicker and as he went to look at the troublesome duo, they suddenly pushed him. He stood there for just a fraction of a second, not understanding _why_ they had pushed him. Then it hit him. Literally.

A blur of red and honey slammed into him, and even managed to knock the breath from his lungs. It – he then noticed that it was actually a "she" – hit the ground.

"Oh for fuck's sake!"

Before he could move towards helping her up or get the papers that were scattered on the ground, she was up and running again, papers in hand. Pretty impressive considering she had just body-slammed a werewolf.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am. Can't say stay to chat. I'll buy you coffee one day! Bye!"

_She's like the white rabbit in Alice and Wonderland,_ he thought as he watched her weave in and out of people towards the opposite end of the campus, _Wow. That was a really gay thought, Jacob. Good job champ._


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The only bad part of Joey's weekend was that her shoulder ached from when she had run into that living brick wall. Everything else had been superb. The meeting with the advisor went well, she met a few new classmates, and it looked as though she might even be able to get an apartment. Now all she had to do was graduate from high school.

Easier said than done.

Senioritis was a pain. She wasn't focusing as much in class and the attention to detail on her homework that had made her popular with her teachers was lacking. She knew what caused it though. Ever since that weekend on the west side, her mind had constantly drifted to that guy she had run into. She was pretty sure she saw him on campus – he was one of the three bohemoths traipsing around the campus looking at displays and girls (the latter more than the former) – and it didn't matter which one he was, because either way he was absolutely gorgeous. In all honesty, she hoped he remembered the promised cup of coffee. At least then she could get the name of her victim…maybe a number too if she played her cards right.

* * *

The plan the pack thought up worked like a charm. It had taken all of Jacob's control to not rip through his skin and kill the both of them, but he knew it would be his two best friends he would loose. And his car. And while the thought of loosing either was unpleasant, at least his car had never gone behind his back and did something like they had. When Embry refused to pull over and let him change, it got harder to hold back and he shook like a 10.0 earthquake. The Rabbit shook along with him. He did however, calm down enough to hear what they were saying. While he most certainly did not like the idea of going to even more school and he definitely hated that they went behind his back, the fact that they were all trying to help him did not escape his notice.

It was the first time in a long time the pack took an outward approach to bringing him back to the Jacob they knew and loved. Before this had been accepting silence. Before that, it was letting him fight it out with Paul and Jared. He figured the pack was giving him one last hurrah. He knew they loved him and wanted the best for him, and he wished he could be carefree like he used to be. But how could he go back? His best friend chose death. Chose that bloodsucker over him. And he loved Bella. Every fiber of his being ached to make her happy, and it still hadn't been enough. Did that mean he wasn't enough? That he didn't deserve love? He didn't want to feel this way.

_Damnit, why can't I just imprint and make this drama go away?!_, he asked himself. Whatever mystical wolf gods were out there watching over his pack seemed to pick a mate for everyone but him. Jared and Kim. Sam and Emily. Quil and little Claire. Even Seth just imprinted on some girl at school. Karen, he thought her name was. People all around him were happy and he spent most of his free time avoiding them. Not because their happiness annoyed him – it actually made him happy to know his friends were set for life in the love department – but because he didn't want his brooding to taint their love.

On some level he knew that he was the only one who could change how he felt. But did he want to change? Was it better to mourn the loss of Bella for the rest of his life, or to forget her and try and make the most of each day? He had helped Bella find herself after the bloodsucker left her shattered. But who would help him find himself?

* * *

The last few months of their senior year passed faster than they had been prepared for. Before either Joey or Jacob were aware, they were donning their caps and gowns, saying goodbye to old friends, and barely holding back their excitement at the prospect of finally being done with high school.

It's not really hard to guess which of the two was beyond thrilled to be preparing for Peninsula College. Joey's whole family, minus Mike (who was on a secret mission somewhere in some unnamed country) was there at the Spokane Opera House with bullhorns – even though people had been told to leave them at home – to celebrate the youngest member of the family's accomplishments.

Things were quite similar on the other side of the country. Jacob, Quil, and Embry's support group was clearly noticeable in the stands. It was hard to miss their families, the pack, and their pack's family members taking up the majority of the space in the crowded auditorium. Hey, they couldn't help it if they were popular. Just quietly, Billy Black was amazed at how Jacob managed to pull himself together after everything that had happened. Especially in regards to Bella. He knew how much his son loved her, and how much it killed him when she not only chose someone over him, but that she had chosen his mortal enemies and their way of life as well.

It was good that Jacob decided to go to college after high school. He had been toying with the idea of moving into Forks with Embry, but Sam was not too thrilled with that idea. If something happened, they would have a hard time finding the privacy necessary to transform and get to La Push in any sort of a timely manner. Still, it was something to be taken into consideration.

Billy pushed these thoughts aside as his mammoth son made his way through the crowd to his dad with a look of victory on his face. He swelled with happiness as he noticed how Jacob walked with a confident gait for the first time in months. Most of the shadows that had haunted his son's face were not to be found.

"So…mechanic's school, huh?"

"Yeah, the whole supernatural thing I have going is great. Doesn't pay the bills though."

"You could always join a circus."

"Tempting, but I'll pass. Thanks for the support though," he laughed, "I was thinking of becoming a veterinarian, but how would the cats react?"

Billy laughed. Jacob was back.

* * *

Joey and her family got out of the car after Dave parked it in the garage. Chris, one of Joey's brothers, slung an arm around her shoulder and directed her outside.

"So, I know you've been wanting to pimp your ride for a while…" he said. Joey got suspicious.

"Yeeeeeah…."

"Well, tell me what you think," he said as he pointed to a car coming down the street.

There was Joey's Jeep Wrangler. It had been made at some point in the mid 90s. She wasn't exactly sure when. But it was her dream car from when she was 10. Yellow, two doors, stick shift, and had a black rag top. In front of her stood her yellow Jeep. It was cleaner. And it now had flames painted across the front end. Bitchin.

"Oh. My. God."

"You like?" Chris asked.

"I love." It was what she had always wanted to do to it. She just never had the money for the paint job.

"Good. It was Mike's idea, but we all pitched in to get it done."

Leave it to Mike to come up with the coolest present ever. She wasn't surprised. He was her favorite brother after all. Two peas in a pod, as her Gran would say. She was just thankful Aidan didn't have the idea to give her car hydraulics as well. He watched too much of "Pimp My Ride" and usually got too many ideas from it.

The car parked in front of the house, her brother Kevin climbing out.

"So?" he called?

"It's wicked awesome. Thanks guys!" she said as the rest of her family joined her and Chris on the front porch. She turned and looked at her family. Mom, Dad, Chris, Kevin, and Aidan. She was going to miss them a lot when she left, but she had to do this, right? She had to learn how to stand on her own two feet without relying too heavily on her family. At some point, she had to grow up, and she figured that going to college would be as good a time to learn as any. She just hoped she wouldn't get homesick. Kev would never let her hear the end of it.

"C'mon Joe!" Adrian yelled as he ran into the house, "Let's play some football!"

Joey just groaned.


End file.
